


He Took The Stars Away

by EKP17



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Series 03: Children of Earth (Torchwood), Romance, coe10
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 11:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19745008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EKP17/pseuds/EKP17
Summary: Time is not always enough to heal every wound. It wasn't an easy decision for Captain Jack Harkness to return on Earth but deep in his mourning, he realized that there's only one person in this universe who can help him keep his mind. Even if he doesn't really like Gwen Cooper's methods. But everything suddenly changes when he finds a note written with a painfully familiar scripture. Short "Find me" is more than enough to turn his whole world around but Ianto Jones is long dead now... isn't he?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> English isn't my native language and I still learn but I think the tenth anniversary of Ianto's death is a good excuse for me to write it and try to improve my language :) Tips are more than welcome especially when it comes to grammar and commas :)

**Prologue**

"You never really know what it is, not until it goes. And if it comes again it's a miracle" Vertical Horizon (Miracle)

It was some kind of game. Jack wasn't exactly sure when had it started or who'd left the very first note written on a small post-it but at some point, those short messages had become a permanent part of their lives. They weren’t anything special really, mostly just ordinary posts about their common life or work but Jack used to see them as a piece of foreplay of some kind, and every time he would see one of them, he smiled. It could be about anything really but something deep inside him used to get a bit warmer when he saw a sticky note on his desk.

He collected every single note that Ianto’d left for him even if it was the simplest “Dinner at my place tonight?” because, no matter how hard he tried not to think about it, he knew that one day those post-its will be all that’s left of Ianto Jones.

He couldn’t know yet that one day this trivial game will change his life forever.


	2. Then

**Then**

"Cause I don't wanna lose you now. I'm looking right at the other half of me. The vacancy that sat in my heart is a space that now you hold" Justin Timberlake (Mirrors)

Another summer day was slowly ending. The sky above Cardiff was growing darker, and the streets suddenly became a bit quieter. It was a peaceful day, more peaceful than they had in weeks actually. Ianto wasn’t going to complain about it, none of them was. They all needed a break after those crazy few days of endless chasing hostile aliens who decided that destroying Cardiff would be such a good idea. Days like this one, easy and almost boring, were simply needed in Torchwood.

He considered staying with Jack in the Hub but he hadn’t been able to find him anywhere so in the end, he decided that one night apart won’t make any difference. They were spending so much time together anyway since Jack has come back from his journey with the Doctor. It was kind of weird. Not that he didn’t like it. It was just so different than what he was used to in his relationship with Jack. Before everything, before Jack disappeared and before they opened the rift, things had been much clearer to him. They were friends and they had a lot of amazing sex. But that’s all. Still, a bit more than this one night that they both agreed on but nothing more than friends anyway. Now it was a bit more confusing and he tried his best not to think about it. He would only get a headache. Anyway, he quite liked things the way they were.

The weather was delightful. It was one of those typical summer evenings and he could forget for a while that the fall was getting closer and closer. He didn’t live too far away from the bay so he decided to left his car and take a walk. It was probably one of the last days when he could do it without a coat or an umbrella. 

Half an hour later he walked into his flat feeling more relaxed than he could ever remember. He sat on a couch and was reaching for a remote when he saw a small, pink post-it stuck to his TV. He smiled to himself as he stood up.

_“You know where to look for me. Don’t make me wait.”_

* * *

“Don’t think I will take care of this coat if you fall down and stain it with your blood,” said Ianto with a slight of amusement in his voice when he saw Jack near to the edge of the roof. He often wondered when had Captain completely lost his instinct of self-preservation.

The older man turned around with this unmistakable smile, and to Ianto’s relief, he moved away from the edge. He knew that Jack had always been a huge fan of height and, well that he’s immortal but he had this strange feeling in his chest every time when he saw him there.

Jack moved to him but surprisingly he decided not to breach his personal space.

“It took you a while.” He looked dramatically on the watch that Ianto bought him on the last Christmas. “I thought you’d leave the Hub sooner.”

“I don’t think my boss would appreciate that.” He moved a bit closer. “He’s being… demanding.”

“Slave driver,” muttered Jack placing hands on his hips. 

And that would be it about personal space. It’s always been an abstract wording for Jack but for the first time, Ianto didn’t mind it at all. He’d rather not to think how people raise their children in the 51 century if apparently keeping the distance from your conversationalist is such a hard thing to do.

“We live in dangerous times,” said Ianto leaning his head toward Jack’s. “The 21st century is when everything changes, and you've got to be ready.” quoted younger man with a terrible American accent.

“Oi! I don’t sound like that!” protested Jack with indignation.

“ Of course you don’t,” he agreed ironically and hushed him with a fast kiss.

.He took a step back from Captain and he could finally look around him. He didn’t pay attention to that before but now he noticed that Jack hadn’t chosen this place by mistake The view was breathtaking. Maybe it wasn’t the panorama full of skyscrapers that he remembered from London but there was something about Cardiff at that moment. This city was simply beautiful even without knowing its secret and he could finally understand why Jack loves it so much. For a short moment, he couldn’t recall why he’d been so desperate to leave this place when he was younger.

He chased these thoughts away and realized that he went closer to the edge than he would like and that Jack’s standing there next to him. He looked down but his quiet presence was too comforting to let him feel any fear. Their hands were so close that he could reach for Jack’s any moment.

“You brought me here to get me drunk?” he asked dryly, raising his eyebrow at the sight of a bottle of wine standing innocently with glasses on the blanket.

Jack smiled slightly, turning to him. His hands were back on his hips.

“And to have my wicked way with you,” muttered Captain to his ear.

“You’ve already had, Jack, many times actually.”

He smiled but didn’t answer. His face was slowly moving to his. Ianto rolled his eyes, pulled Jack closer and kissed him hard

He was so glad that they’d built this life outside the Torchwood. He loved his job and he wouldn’t change it for the world but he needed this even more. He needed Jack in his life. It didn’t matter that they weren’t like other couples or that they haven’t even called this thing between them. He didn’t need it. He knew what they had: a passion, comprehension, and mutual pain, and it was okay not to call it in any way. 

They had their problems especially when it came to talking about their feelings, and Gwen for sure would say that they acted like typical men but that was okay too. Ianto didn’t want any declaration of never-ending love, red roses or anything like that. Well, he really wasn’t a woman after all. Instead of all this romanticism he just wanted to be sure that after a bad day he’ll have someone who understands. And no one understood like Jack.

He pulled away from Captain for a safe distance. He really didn’t want to have sex on the roof of his building even if it was unlikely to be caught at this hour. Instead of that, he sat down on the blanket and Jack poured some wine to their glasses. He looked up at the sky and sighed. It was a really special night for Cardiff, no rain, no clouds, only stars. They would be much more visible somewhere outside the city but still made an impression. 

Ianto’s always loved the stars and he shouldn’t be that surprised that he ended up in Torchwood after all. He liked this job even if it took so much from him. He’s never really stopped missing Lisa but his love for Jack was like a remedy for his aching heart. With him, for the first time since Canary Wharf, he felt alive again.

He glanced at the man who was sitting next to him looking at the sky with an absent expression. His hand was right beside his but he didn’t want to break this moment of reflexion for Jack. It was more than obvious that Jack still missed stars and Ianto appreciated that he let him be there for him every time when this nostalgia became almost painful. 

Sometimes he still couldn’t believe that Jack gave up on the whole universe for them. He could have stayed with his Doctor, he could have been travelling and seeing all those wonders of the world. But instead, he chose Cardiff and people who betrayed him. He came back on this little, pathetic planet and learnt to love it even if he knew that this life won’t last long.

He closed his eyes. He didn’t want to think how little time they have together. Not tonight. Tonight should be perfect, with no visions of inescapable and violent death, doubts and bitter memories. Just him, Jack and stars.

He raised his eyelids and hesitantly touched Jack’s hand. He took his eyes off the sky and looked at him with something hard to define. It wasn’t either anger or irritation. He smiled and Ianto smiled back when he realized that it was something more than this empty expression that he used to fake every day. In moments like this, he felt that Jack lifts for him his mask and lets him see what’s under it.

“I’m glad you came back to us” he admitted for the first time and surprisingly it wasn’t that awkward as he imagined. 

Jack held his hand tightly and looked at the sky again. And that was the best night that Ianto could ever remember.

  



End file.
